8 instant Christmas centerpieces

Everyone wants a festive centerpiece for Christmas -- here are 12 ideas for centerpieces you can "create" in an instant.

1. A beautifully wrapped poinsettia says 'tis the season!
   
   
2. Grab a large clear-glass bowl from your cupboard. Add a variety of brightly-colored Christmas ornaments for a sparkly centerpiece.
   
   
3. Maybe you won't have chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but you can certainly display them on your table. Line the bottom of a bowl with chestnuts and add fresh cranberries on top for color.
   
   
4. Everything looks good in a group of three. Find a trio of favorite Christmas figurines (angels, snowmen, Santas, etc.) and place them in a group in the center of your table.
   
   
5. Were you baking up a storm this season? Decorate the table with a gingerbread house or a tower of Christmas cookies.
   
   
6. Candles make an easy centerpiece for any occasion. Grab a few pillars or tapers in holiday colors and arrange them on a festive tray.
   
   
7. Fill a hurricane vase with pine cones, holly berries, and other natural signs of the season.
   
   
8. Cover a tray or fill a bowl or hurricane vase with seasonal candies and foods. The color and shine of peppermints mixed with oranges and walnuts makes a good-enough-to-eat centerpiece that is worthy of any Christmas table.
   

The 5 best Christmas albums to play this season

Need an easy playlist for your Christmas celebrations? Pick up a few of these classic and contemporary Christmas albums and you've got an easy mix of tunes perfect for parties.

1. Bing Crosby's White Christmas
   Start things off with a true classic when you purchase Bing Crosby's White Christmas album (for only $3.99 on Amazon, you can't go wrong). The disc is full of classics like "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Silent Night", and the title track "White Christmas", you'll have just over a dozen songs to get you in the holiday spirit.
   
   
2. Barenaked Ladies' Barenaked for the Holidays
   Aside from the snooze-worthy version of "Jingle Bells" that kicks off this disc, the Barenaked Ladies' holiday album is a must-have. A mix of both quirky and sentimental Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter songs make up this wonderful collection. The disc also features guest appearances by Sarah McLachlan and Michael Buble. ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" featuring Sarah McLachlan is especially beautiful.)
   
   
3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Stories
   What did we do before the Trans-Siberian Orchestra came around? Christmas Eve and Other Stories showcases 17 Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs and includes fan-favorite "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", (often mistakenly called "Carol of the Bells") which is an instrumental medley of "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
   
   
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special
   If you can get your hands on a copy of the original soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas, you are very lucky indeed! The original has the music just as we remember it (without the bells and whistles added to more recent releases). Playing this disc at a Christmas party is sure to invoke nostalgic memories of the season.
   
   
5. The original A Very Special Christmas CD
   Though there are now half a dozen A Very Special Christmas compilations circulating, the original is the best, featuring Christmas songs sung by '80s superstars. From Run D.M.C.'s wonderfully cheesy Christmas in Hollis to U2's rocking Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and Alison Moyet's hauntingly beautiful The Coventry Carol, the album features contemporary hits and proceeds from the sale of the album benefit Special Olympics.

Tune in to one of these albums for a very special Christmas of your own!

Gift guide: 10 great gifts for the party planners on your list

Have a hostess-with-the-mostest on your Christmas shopping list this year? Check out some of the 15-Minute Party Planner's gift giving suggestions for the entertainers on your list.

This Gift Tower of Sweetsis the perfect Christmas gift for any hostess. The pre-wrapped chocolate-covered cherries, salted pistachios, and gourmet pretzels come in beautiful boxes, saving the recipient from having to find serving dishes. At an affordable $21.95, this tower of sweet treats won't break your budget.


Multipurpose serving dishes like this chip and dip tray(with a dip insert that can be heated or chilled depending on what you're serving) are great for parties because the pieces stay together. There will be no more last-minute scrambling for something to hold both chips and dip with this cute tray for less than $25.


Chocolate lovers, rejoice! This basket of the best from Ghirardelli Chocolate Companypacks an assortment of Ghirardelli chocolates including various sizes of Luxe bars, Masterpiece truffles, and candy bars. The basket clocks in at $35 and ships for free, making it a great gift for the out-of-town party planner on your list. The basket's festive wrapping and wide array of chocolates make it a great gift for any hostess.



Bargain alert! This Omaha Steaks Fantastic Feastis currently being offered on Amazon.com for an incredible $69.99 (a savings of $100!). Not only does this premium food package include top sirloins, pork chops, stuffed sole, gourmet franks, boneless chicken breasts, and stuffed baked potatoes, it also saves your hostess shopping time and comes with easy instructions.



Hilarious cocktail napkins are great for any 15-minute party planner. They add some humor to the party and don't require washing and ironing like linen napkins. This set says Why limit happy to an hour?and we agree! Other funny napkin slogans include If you obey all the rules, you miss all the funand The trouble with trouble is it starts out as fun!


If you're looking to save time when it comes to mixing drinks, there's nothing easier than a cocktail shaker with built-in recipes. The Dial-A-Drink Cocktail Shakeroffers recipes for 15 popular cocktails just by aligning the shaker's arrow to the with the title of the selected cocktail. Then, just pour in the ingredients and shake it up for drinks in an instant. The fact that this cute bar accessory is made of oh-so-popular stainless steel ups the gadget's wow factor even further, making it the perfect present for the cocktail connoisseur on your list.


Teeny tiny desserts are in this year. To save the party planners on your list the hassle of cutting dessert into dozens of small pieces, give them this adorable brownie bites baking mold. The mold produces 24 brownie bites. At only $9.99 per pan, you can splurge and get two pans for easy entertaining.

This splurge-worthy meat lovers' gourmet food gift basketincludes smoked salmon, sliced Italian salami, fire-roasted salmon pate, Wisconsin cheddar cheese, jalapeno hot pepper cheese, jalapeno cheddar biscuits, and both sesame and stoned wheat crackers. The $49 basket comes ready to give with a decorative ribbon and a personalized gift message.

Tired of listening to the kids' iPod on shuffle while you're trying to enjoy a sophisticated cocktail party? Replace the hostess's teen-tunes with a grown-up, metropolitan mix of jazzy songs like the ones featured on the Cocktail Mix 2: Martini Madnessor Jazz Moods: Cocktail PartyCDs. Or, grab an iTunes gift cardso that your friend can pick out some snazzier songs herself.


Finally, when your favorite hostess isn't looking for recipes from the 15-Minute Party Planner, she'll need another resource. Easy cookbooks like Party Snacks! 50 Simple, Stylish Recipes to Make You a Popular Party Hostmake party planning a cinch. For just $10, you'll get A.J. Rathburn's recipes for "stuffed, skewered, baked, dipped, spreadable, and speedy party snacks." (Try gifting the book along with a few party snacks for an instant-use holiday present!)

10-minute homemade cranberry sauce

Avoid using canned cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving by making the sauce yourself. This recipe takes no more than 10 minutes and you'll end up with a delicious homemade cranberry sauce that is well-worth the extra few minutes. Besides, when the recipe is as simple and tasty as this one you'd kick yourself for not trying it. (In fact, we think the recipe is so good and so easy that we recommend buying a few extra bags of cranberries this season and popping them in the freezer. Then you can whip up this fabulous side any time of the year.)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of whole cranberries (about 12 ounces)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1 cup sugar
  

Directions:

• Add water, cider, and sugar to a medium-sized saucepan. Mix until sugar is blended.
• Add cranberries and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cranberries pop.
• Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

In addition to serving this sauce as a side dish, try mixing it with mayonnaise or mustard for a day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich spread or tossing a dollop of the sauce on top of ice cream or pound cake for a sweet/tart treat.

3 things you need for easy Christmas entertaining

Winter is on its way and Christmas will be here before you know it. Having the proper tools and treats will help you host holiday parties without slaving away in the kitchen or spending all of your time preparing, instead of enjoying your party.

To get you started, here are three must-haves for any 15-minute party planner.

• Easy serving dishes
  Dishes with multiple compartments mean fewer items to arrange and fewer items to wash. Try a four-compartment divided dish to make serving a snap.
  
  
• Fancy no-prep food
  A box of nuts and chocolates, a container of caviar, or a spread of smoked fish makes for elegant entertaining without the prep work.
  
  
• Signature drinks
  Serving a special cocktail, fancy hot chocolate, or mulled cider makes your holiday party memorable without requiring a lot of effort.

Stress-free plans for the holiday season

Now that we're into November, the holiday season is upon us. For many, the frenzy to plan and prep Thanksgiving dinner gives way to Christmas chaos.

Relax and enjoy the season instead of getting frazzled. There's nothing on your holiday to-do list that can't be boiled down to easy steps that take 15 minutes or less. In the upcoming weeks, the 15-Minute Party Planner will make your holiday party-planning easy, with easy timelines and to-do lists.

You can squeak 15 minutes of party prep into your day in half-a-dozen places -- make your shopping list in the car while you wait for the kids to get out of school, grab a few extra groceries this week instead of shopping for the holiday in one fell swoop, or dig out the holiday decorations while you're in the basement swapping over a load of laundry.

Stay tuned for more stress-free party planning tips from the 15-Minute Party Planner!